MP backs Johnson ahead of Brexit vote

JOHN HOWELL has defended Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament.

The move has prompted a backlash from MPs opposed to a no-deal Brexit and the Prime Minister has been dubbed a “dictator”.

Mr Howell said he and his predecessor as Henley MP had not always seen eye to eye when it came to politics but he felt Mr Johnson was being treated unfairly.

He said: “We have a totally different approach. Mine is a far more consensual approach and I think that can be seen from a number of different political examples.

“I think the emotional language that has been used really does not help at all. I have tried to introduce a bit of balance to the conversation.

“The timing of it [proroguing] is a political decision and it is for the Prime Minister to justify his decision. I do not think it is helpful when phrases such as ‘undemocratic’ are used.”

Mr Howell supported the Remain campaign during the 2016 referendum and backed Jeremy Hunt to be the next Conservative leader after Theresa May resigned earlier this year.

The decision to prorogue parliament has sparked protests across the country and an online petition has gathered more than one million signatures.

David Gauke, the former justice secretary, has claimed that the Government is trying to expel Tories who do not support Mr Johnson.

Mr Howell said: “I am being completely honest when I say I have not had an email, phone call or text message sent to me in any way to do with deselection.

“If there is a line then nobody has decided that I need to be told.

“I have said all along that I think it is in everyone’s best interest to have a deal. As far as I am aware, he [Mr Johnson] is working to get a deal.

“If we leave without a deal, then the European Union will not have seen the opportunity to discuss a compromise and I really feel this is a situation where a compromise can be achieved.”

The Prime Minister has made it clear that he wants to deliver Brexit by October 31 with or without a deal.

Mr Howell said: “I do appreciate that the timing of this right now brings a particular nuance but, as I understand it, it is a constitutionally correct process.

“Prorogation of Parliament is a standard part of the cycle of parliamentary process.

“Despite having voted to remain myself, the attempt to undo the result of the referendum is not something I can support.

“I have watched with complete despair over the last two years as MPs who support this view have used every parliamentary procedural device in the book to try to frustrate Brexit and, with the help of the speaker, to rewrite established conventions.

“It is of concern when the speaker, who is supposed to be neutral, speaks out as he has.”

Meanwhile, a group of the ruling Green and Liberal Democrat councillors on South Oxfordshire District Council have written an open letter to Mr Howell, urging him to oppose a no-deal Brexit.

The letter reads: “We understand that you didn’t back Boris Johnson as leader and that you, like many of your constituents, voted to remain in the 2016 referendum.

“We also understand that you do not support severing all ties with our closest neighbours.

“A no-deal Brexit would be incredibly damaging for businesses across the country. There are many businesses in your constituency that are part of Europe-wide supply chains.

“There is also a huge amount of uncertainty and a sense of ‘limbo’ for the thousands of EU citizens living and working in this constituency.

“Time is now running out and we are asking you to join with other Oxfordshire MPs like Ed Vaizey, Anneliese Dodds and Layla Moran in opposing a no-deal Brexit and doing whatever it takes to stop it from happening.”